Studies in the care of asthma in general practice
Studies in the care of asthma in general practice
The asthma problem in terms of self-reported morbidity, reduced lung function, deficient knowledge and self-care ability, use of medical resources, treatment and attitudes to the disease is shown by a descriptive study to tbe considerable, even among patients cared for in well-resourced and innovative general practices. The process involved in and the medium term outcomes of setting up nurse-run asthma care with both medical and nursing facilitation in one such practice are studied and compared with another similar practice as a control. No clinically significantly greater benefits are demonstrated in the intervention practice than in the control, although some improvements in lung function are seen in both practices. Using the data collected in the descriptive study, a simple and practical index is derived for general practice based on the yes/no answers to three questions concerning self-reported morbidity. The index is significantly associated with lung function, use of resources, asthma knowledge and attitudes towards the disease and it should prove useful in the monitoring and auditing of asthma care. Its potential for postal surveillance and targeting care towards those people with asthma most in need is demonstrated in a survey of those patients on the computerised asthma register of one general practice. The turbine spirometer's measurement of peak expiratory flow rate is shown to be unrelated to that of the mini-Wright peak flow meter and the role of spirometry in aiding therapeutic decisions in a nurse-run asthma clinic is shown to be small. Reducing the morbidity of asthma in general practice is not an easy task and the work conducted is considered in terms of its guidance for potential future innovations in care.
University of Southampton
1992
Jones, Kevin Peter
(1992)
Studies in the care of asthma in general practice.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The asthma problem in terms of self-reported morbidity, reduced lung function, deficient knowledge and self-care ability, use of medical resources, treatment and attitudes to the disease is shown by a descriptive study to tbe considerable, even among patients cared for in well-resourced and innovative general practices. The process involved in and the medium term outcomes of setting up nurse-run asthma care with both medical and nursing facilitation in one such practice are studied and compared with another similar practice as a control. No clinically significantly greater benefits are demonstrated in the intervention practice than in the control, although some improvements in lung function are seen in both practices. Using the data collected in the descriptive study, a simple and practical index is derived for general practice based on the yes/no answers to three questions concerning self-reported morbidity. The index is significantly associated with lung function, use of resources, asthma knowledge and attitudes towards the disease and it should prove useful in the monitoring and auditing of asthma care. Its potential for postal surveillance and targeting care towards those people with asthma most in need is demonstrated in a survey of those patients on the computerised asthma register of one general practice. The turbine spirometer's measurement of peak expiratory flow rate is shown to be unrelated to that of the mini-Wright peak flow meter and the role of spirometry in aiding therapeutic decisions in a nurse-run asthma clinic is shown to be small. Reducing the morbidity of asthma in general practice is not an easy task and the work conducted is considered in terms of its guidance for potential future innovations in care.
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Published date: 1992
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Local EPrints ID: 461299
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461299
PURE UUID: 07013d7c-9c8c-413d-bfe9-2f7a911408e3
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:42
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:42
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Author:
Kevin Peter Jones
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